Self-efficacy, Training Effectiveness, and Deception Detection: A Longitudinal Study of Lie Detection Training

Studies examining the ability to detection deception have consistently found that humans tend to be poor detectors. In this study, we examine the roles of self-efficacy and training over time. We conducted a field experiment at a military training center involving 119 service members. The subjects were given two sessions of deception detection training. Their performance history, perceived effectiveness of the training, and perceived self-efficacy were measured over time. Two significant findings were identified. First, training novelty and relativity played a noticeable role in the subjects’ perceptions of effectiveness. Second, influencing subject self-efficacy to detect deception requires time and multiple iterations of the task so as to allow the subjects the opportunity to calibrate their skills. We believe that continued research along this line will ultimately results in marked improvement in deception detection ability.

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